blu26 - International Class Association

During April and May, 10 registered teams met at Lake Zug for a series of regatta trainings designed to prepare for the sailing season along with professional coaching. Due to the pandemic, the annual event that typically takes place in March at Lake Garda, this year transferred into a real training ‘summit’ along 3 practice weekends. 

The blu26 training series began 10-11 April and continued 24-25 April and 8-9 May, featuring 10 crews overall from Switzerland and Germany, including two young sailing teams that benefited from the class’ ‘Rookie Initiative’. “Over the last few months, we all faced strong restrictions to the sailing schedule due to the pandemic. We felt this was the right point in time to kick off the new season with a more extensive training program and some frank coaching”, confirms blu26 race coordinator Michael Klötzli.

The class organized the regatta training as an opportunity to sail and race together and get in some critical practice time ahead of sailing season. Under the leadership of sailing-pro Christian ‘Blumi’ Scherrer and Tom Martin, the training leveled up each weekend encompassing line ups, tactics, racing rules, several practice runs, and daily debriefs via YouTube to adhere to the current health and safety measures (YouTube links attached). The program offered sailing techniques in an engaging, interactive format that was pleasant and effective. It enabled all crews to optimize their maneuvers and trimming, harmonize their teamwork and tune into the regatta mode. 

Oscillating and persistent wind shifts on Lake Zug made it fun to sail, enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery and spring sun. Thanks to the ‘Lothenbach thermals’ the teams were able to sail almost without interruptionalong the 6 training days. Aside of various practice starts, 10 complete runs were accomplished during the last training weekend (see ranking attached). “This training scheme was a pilot, which proofed to be successful. The feedback from all participants was extremely positive. Despite Corona limitations, all teams were able to share their experiences and learn from each other. With these 3 training sessions, we were able to offer the class a viable alternative program to properly open the season 2021, which I am very happy about” says Thomas Grob, blu26 class president.

The team behind the scenes did an amazing job in organizing this training series in a very agile manner. Big thanks to everyone for the great support. Now, it is with persistent optimism that the class looks forward to getting the 2021 blu26 Cup agenda cracking! 

VIDEO DEBRIEFINGS AND TRAINING RESULTS

1. blu26 Regatta Training Zug / Day 1 Video

1. blu26 Regatta Training Zug / Day 2 Video

2. blu26 Regatta Training Zug / Day 1 Video

2. blu26 Regatta Training Zug / Day 2 Video

blu26 Regattatraining - Ranking 8/9 May: Results